Timeline: The Blaze Bernstein murder case

A look at the 2018 disappearance of Blaze Bernstein and the evidence that led to Sam Woodward‘s arrest and conviction in the hate crime murder.

Jan. 2, 2018

Blaze, a 19-year-old Ivy League student, was spending the holidays visiting family in Orange County, California, when he went missing the night of Jan. 2, 2018.

Jan. 3, 2018

After Blaze failed to show up to a dentist appointment and didn’t respond to texts and calls, his parents, Jeanne Pepper and Gideon Bernstein, checked his room. They didn’t find Blaze but found his wallet, keys and glasses still at the house.

They searched Blaze’s computer and social media accounts for clues. On Blaze’s Snapchat, they found messages from Sam Woodward, who had been Blaze’s high school classmate. The messaging showed that the night Blaze went missing, he had sent his address to Woodward. Gideon Bernstein reached out to Woodward, who claimed he had picked Blaze up and driven to local Borrego Park. Woodward said that Blaze then walked off in the dark to meet another friend. 

“I didn’t see where he went,” Woodward told Gideon Bernstein. “I searched all over for him … I couldn’t find him anywhere.”

After that call, the worried Bernsteins filed a missing person’s report with police.

Jan. 6, 2018

Law enforcement repeatedly combed Borrego Park. By this point, news of Blaze’s disappearance had already spread across Orange County.

The Bernstein family, still hoping for good news, held a press conference, asking the public to keep looking for their son.

Jan. 9, 2018

After days of searching, investigators found Blaze buried in a shallow grave in Borrego Park after heavy rains helped uncover his body. He had been stabbed more than 20 times. Blaze’s damaged phone (pictured) was also found in that grave.

Investigators believed Woodward was the last person to see Blaze before he disappeared. Woodward had told them what he told the Bernsteins — that he met up with Blaze, who then walked off in the park. Investigators served a search warrant at Woodward’s home. 

Jan. 12, 2018

Sam Woodward was arrested on Jan. 12, 2018. 

Jan. 17, 2018

Woodward was charged with murder with a sentencing enhancement of personal use of a knife.

Later in 2018, then-Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas told “48 Hours” that investigators had found a knife in Woodward’s home. 

“The knife had blood on it,” Rackauckas said. “Blaze Bernstein’s blood on the knife.”

He also said they had found blood in Woodward’s car. 

“The blood on the headliner belonged to both Sam Woodward and Blaze Bernstein,” Rackauckas told “48 Hours” correspondent Tracy Smith.

Feb. 2, 2018

 Woodward was arraigned and pleaded not guilty.    

August 2, 2018

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office added a hate crime enhancement to Sam Woodward’s initial charges.

Prosecutors claimed Woodward killed Blaze with premeditation because Blaze was gay. If convicted, Woodward now could face life in prison without the possibility of parole. Authorities say after examining Woodward’s phone, laptop and social media accounts, they found evidence of Woodward’s involvement in Atomwaffen, a neo-Nazi terrorist group. 

April 9, 2024

In the opening statements of his trial, the prosecution told the jury that Woodward killed Blaze because he was gay. Defense Attorney Ken Morrison conceded that Woodward killed Blaze but argued that the murder was not premeditated and instead was a case of voluntary manslaughter. He argued that Blaze did something that provoked Woodward to kill him and told the jury Woodward would testify about what happened the night Blaze was killed.

April 10, 2024

“I know that a lot of things will be said that are probably untrue,” Jeanne Pepper told “48 Hours.” “Because that’s what happens in a criminal trial…I have an opportunity to defend Blaze and that’s what I will do.”

Blaze Bernstein’s parents were among 23 witnesses who testified for the prosecution.

June 20, 2024

When it was the defense’s turn, Woodward told the jury that on the night he killed Blaze, Woodward had smoked a joint. He said that Blaze had been taunting him and threatened to out his sexuality. Woodward accused Blaze of sexual assault. There is no evidence of this.

Woodward testified that he then stabbed Blaze to death. He said that he routinely carried a knife with him since his days as a Boy Scout.

July 3, 2024

The jury found Sam Woodward guilty of first-degree murder with the hate crime enhancement. 

“He faces life without possibility of parole,” Orange County Senior Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker said after the guilty verdict. “And that’s what we’ll be asking for.”

Oct. 22, 2024

Sam Woodward is due back in court for sentencing.

Blaze’s Legacy

After their son’s murder, Blaze’s parents were determined not to let hate win. To honor their son, they started a movement called “Blaze It Forward” inspiring acts of kindness.

At Borrego Park where Blaze was tragically killed, there is now a tribute to Blaze. To this day, people from all over the world continue to leave stones in his memory.